Unsurprisingly, Twins southpaw Taylor Rogers “is very popular on the trade market,” MLB Network’s Jon Heyman tweets. There is enough interest that the reliever has a “good chance to be dealt” even though Minnesota is reportedly reluctant to move players who are under team control beyond this season. Rogers has one more arbitration year remaining before free agency in the 2022-23 offseason.
Rogers has somewhat quietly been one of baseball’s most effective relievers since just about the moment of his MLB debut in 2016, as the left-hander has a 3.15 ERA, 27.9% strikeout rate, and a 22% K-BB rate over 314 2/3 career innings out of Minnesota’s bullpen. He has kept up that form in 2021, with a 3.35 ERA and a whopping 35.5% strikeout rate that ranks 11th among all hurlers with at least 40 innings pitched this season. This is the type of high-level performance that could be the difference-maker in a pennant race, so while the Twins undoubtedly have a huge asking price for Rogers, another team could be willing to take the plunge to upgrade its bullpen for both the rest of this season and into 2022.
More from around the American League…
- Alex Bregman will start a Triple-A rehab assignment within the next few days, the Astros star told MLB.com’s Brian McTaggart and other reporters. A left quad strain sent Bregman to the 10-day injured list on June 17, and though there was initial uncertainty around exactly how long Bregman might be out, the Astros’ series against the Twins on August 5-8 seems to look like the target date. At the time of his injury, Bregman was hitting .275/.359/.428 with seven home runs over 262 plate appearances.
- Before the Rays traded for Nelson Cruz, the Athletics gave some consideration to acquiring the slugger themselves, Shayna Rubin of the Bay Area News Group writes. The A’s seemingly didn’t get close to a move, however, due to both the financial and prospect cost attached to Cruz, and Rubin wonders if payroll concerns in particular will keep the Athletics from making any particularly big deadline splashes. While spending is always an issue for the club, money could be tighter than ever now that the A’s no longer receive revenue-sharing money — as per the last collective bargaining agreement, the Athletics were gradually phased out of the league’s revenue-sharing plan over a multi-year period. That said, Billy Beane and company have been adept at finding lower-cost help at past deadlines, such Oakland’s trade for Tommy La Stella last year.
- Corey Kluber threw a 25-pitch bullpen session on Friday, and the Yankees veteran told reporters (including ESPN’s Marly Rivera) that he is “very confident” that he’ll be able to return in 2021. Kluber was initially targeted for a late-July return at the time of his IL placement for a shoulder strain, though Yankees GM Brian Cashman later threw some doubt into Kluber’s exact timeline, saying that the right-hander might not be back until September. While Kluber certainly doesn’t look immediately close to an activation just yet, his mound work does represent progress, even if he described his 25 pitches as “easy fastballs…nothing like I would do in a regular bullpen session.”
John Fisher, you’re such a cheap and utter scumbag. The amount of disdain I have for owners like you is ineffable.
What? The billionaire heir to the GAP fortune, cheap?
Plz trade Rogers to the Giants.
Then the twins can play together
AsfaninUK does not speak for any A’s fans and isn’t really an A’s fan.
I loved Pete Lacock’s dad on Hollywood Squares. Brings back old memories!
Pretty sure MLBTR created the mute button because of that guy lol
Strike Four says hello.
It’s hard to be a fan when your team goes 12-18 in its last 30.
If the A’s couldn’t afford nine weeks of Cruz they aren’t going to be able to afford anything to help the club. Not the best report on Kluber either. Anyone that picked the Yankees or A’s to win this year didn’t have a good crystal ball.
Kluber has been ruined since his no hitter but no one can take away his one night of glory.
Kluber unfortunately has been truly ruined since Brian Anderson broke his arm.
@ludafish
That doesn’t compute, given that he threw a no-hitter since then.
The Rays got Cruz for the equivalent of Brian Howard and Daulton Jefferies. The entire Athletics front office is rotten from Fisher to Beane to Kaval.
“Your crystal ball ain’t so crystal clear….”
Athletics can afford players. Owner is worth 3 billion, team is profitable, etc. The whole notion like the Athletics are a non-profit is a joke. Feel sorry for the city as the owner will end up moving the team in a few years because the owner can’t get 100 pct his way.
A’s should do the same thing the giants did with their ballpark and make a killing financially and do something for Oakland. And spend some money for once as well.
How does a billionaire not have payroll it does not compute. John Fisher owning a MLB team is bad for MLB.
A’s make the world series with Cruz. This is infuriating.
Hahahahahahaha. Oh, you’re serious?
Oh great, another ridiculous take from the guy who isnt actually an A’s fan. We are not a Nelson Cruz away from the WS. Go troll somewhere else.
I honestly don’t know what fantasy land you’re living in. While Cruz would certainly boost the offensive output, it does not make up for the black holes of offensive production at 3B, SS, RF and C. Nor does it fix the bullpen issues. Outside of Romo, I don’t think there is a single reliever I’d trust to come in during a close game.
They are all Billionaires. For some, professional sports teams are just massive tax write offs.
John Fisher is the scum of the earth who has no business owning a baseball team. He’s a BILLIONAIRE! He’s a disgrace. Fan since 1982.
Add the fact that the value of baseball franchises is not in the year-to-year profit/loss. It’s in the equity that builds up. Owners crying poor is usually pretty lame….
100% How MLB doesn’t do anything about is crazy!
The A’s should honestly consider selling right now. There are too many issues and not enough resources to fix it. They’d be better off selling off some pieces and trying again next year.
Oakland won’t even make the playoffs. The Mariners are about to pass them and so will the Angels. At least Texas won’t.
The Mariners will let Jerry Dipoto do his thing and by the Trading Deadline will go on to acquire 2B Adam Frazier from the Pirates, 3B Jose Ramirez from the Indians, and SP Luis Castillo from the Reds. The Mariners will finally break their playoff drought in 2021 and be set up for successive AL West First Place finishes for the next 3 or 4 seasons with these trades. Seattle has the farm system to make this happen. Let’s see it done.
Not asking much are ya…
He does have ignorant right in his name though.
Astros have the best offense in MLB despite Bregman missing over 1/4 of the season, and Aledmis Diaz missing 1/3 of the season.
Now they get both back in time for the final 50 games. Plenty of time shake off the rust before the playoffs.
Now if they can just add a pitcher who will throw strikes !!
Diaz is coming back on Monday and Bregman just started his rehab assignment so he’ll be back in early August. Brantley missed a lot of games too, the only ones who haven’t are Correa, Gurriel, and Straw.
No surprise that the A’s were scared off by a couple of months of Cruz’s pro-rated salary. I don’t know what prospects they are reluctant to part with but they definitely should try to use Logan Davidson in a deal before the dude’s value drops to Richie Martin level.